


Heart To Heart

by Evelyn6



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Based on promo stills, F/M, Gold Family, Pre-episode: s06e19, Rumbelle - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-29
Updated: 2017-04-29
Packaged: 2018-10-25 07:51:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10759938
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Evelyn6/pseuds/Evelyn6
Summary: Rumple is able to retrieve something precious from the Black Fairy, and he and Belle realize that  their family may not be so lost after all.





	Heart To Heart

**Author's Note:**

> This is based on the promo stills for episode 6x19, hopefully a sweet little scene we might see a version of on screen. I'd like to dedicate it to a dear friend of mine who keeps encouraging me to write even though my confidence has hit a low point. Happy reading everyone <3

"What do you mean he doesn't _want_ it back?" Belle asked in a hushed whisper, her tone strained as she looked over her husband's shoulder to where their son was sitting across the room.

It pained her to see him bound to a chair, like a prisoner who couldn't be trusted. No matter what the Black Fairy may have made him do, she knew he meant them no harm. He hadn't meant anyone any harm. And she would make sure that he was never forced to do anything against his will ever again.

She looked back at the small chest Rumple had cradled to his chest protectively, her heart wrenching as she thought of what was inside. There weren't quite words to explain how she'd felt holding her son's heart in her hands; even less to explain how much it pained her to know that it had been taken from him at all.

She plucked the chest from her husband carefully and set it gently on the table beside her.

"I told him we recovered it from the Black Fairy, that it would give him his freedom back," Rumple told her, his hands fidgeting before him in that way they did when he was unsure. "He says he doesn't want it back. I don't know what to do, Belle."

She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth as she looked again at their son. He was looking rather pointedly at the floor, but she had a feeling he was listening more intently than he led on.

They had agreed that Rumple should be the one to give him his heart back as he was the only one with experience doing such a thing, but it hadn't occurred to her that their son might not _want_ it back. She wouldn't force him, of course. She couldn't. He'd had too much of that done to him already. But _why_.

"P-perhaps if you talked to him," Rumple said suddenly, a shred of hope entering his eyes as he reached for her. "He'll listen to you, Belle. I know it. He... He loves you."

She frowned as she looked up at his face, seeing the pain he was trying to cover up even as he brushed his thumbs over her arms encouragingly.

"He loves you, too, Rumple. You do know that, don't you?" she asked softly.

She could tell by the way his shoulders slumped that he didn't think that was true. And gods, if that didn't break her heart. Were both her men so broken that they couldn't see how loved they were? How had she failed them both so much...

He sat down in the chair behind them, his head falling into his hands as he brushed them over his face before looking back at her. She didn't miss the small, resigned sigh he made before he dropped his gaze to the floor.

"Everything I've done, Belle... Who I am. He has no reason to love me," he admitted quietly, his eyes drifting to their son with such regret and longing that Belle couldn't stand it anymore.

She knelt down beside him, her hands gripping one of his between them. Even in her haste, she couldn't help but notice how warm his palms were and the way he instantly squeezed his fingers around hers.

"You," she said firmly, truthfully, "are a good man. We've both made mistakes, Rumple, but I know that everything you've done has been out of love. For me and for Gideon. He's your _son_. Like his mother..." she smiled, dipping her head to catch his eye, "he can't help but love you."

His eyes went wide as his mouth dropped, and it took a few tries for him to finally choke out, "Y-you love me?"

"I never stopped," she whispered as she leaned forward and kissed his cheek, resting there for a moment with her forehead pressed against his skin as she breathed him in. He was shaking when he brought his free hand to the back of her head, but his touch was sure and soft as he cradled her against him.

She was reluctant to pull away, but she could feel their son's eyes on them and she needed to make sure he knew the truth, too.

"I'll talk to him," she assured her husband, smiling when he nodded.

He rushed to his feet ahead of her to help her up, and she squeezed his hand one more time before letting him go. Gideon's eyes widened as she approached him, his expression torn. As if he couldn't decide whether to ignore her or run to her. She tried to keep her own face open as she knelt in front of him, her hands clasped in her lap to keep her from reaching for him.

"Gideon..."

_My beautiful boy._

"I told him already that I don't want it," he said stiffly. His voice broke on his words and she could see it frustrated him, could see the way he was trying to compose himself. To hide what he was truly feeling. And in that moment, she _knew_.

"My sweet boy," she said softly, unable to stop the wistful smile that crept over her mouth as she thought of all the time lost. "I know you've been through so much; have had to endure and do unimaginable things."

Gideon shifted in the chair before her, almost shrinking away from her. But it wasn't anger or denial shining in his eyes before he cast them to the floor. No. It was guilt. It was regret and shame; the kind buried so deep that he was swimming in it, unable to see just how strong he had been - and just how much good was in his heart.

"I meant what I said when I told you that no matter what, you could always come back to us. And it's not because I don't know what you've been forced to do. It's because I know _you_. I know that your heart is full of light. I know that you've tried to do the right thing, even in the darkness." She dared to reach for his hand and could not stop the tears from spilling over her cheeks when he entwined their fingers, clasping onto her as desperately as she did him. "And you may not believe it, but you are my hero, Gideon."

He let out a sob, the broken sound reverberating in the quiet of the shop and tugging at her heart. There were tears pooling in his eyes, eyes so like his father's, and she kept her own gaze on them as she reached forward and cupped his cheek in her palm.

She could feel Rumple behind her, his presence - as always - its own sort of gravity, keeping her centered. It gave her strength and relief flushed through her at the reminder that she wasn't alone. They were doing this together. And they would be together again.

"I love you, Gideon. We both do. More than you could ever imagine." She looked up at Rumple and he gave her a small smile, closing the distance between them to rest his hand on her shoulder as his other hand cradled the small chest that held their son's heart. "You don't have to be afraid."

Gideon pressed his face into her palm as he nodded and she felt more than saw Rumple's magic release the bonds around his wrists. As soon as he was free, he was on his knees and wrapping her in his arms. The last time she had held him, he had been so tiny. Barely more than a bundle of blankets in her arms. It felt as if no time had passed at all, and yet now he was taller even than Rumple, grown, a man in his own right. But having him in her arms still felt as right as it had the first time, and she breathed him in even as he buried his face in her hair and clutched her closer.

"I'm so sorry, Mum. I... I tried. I didn't want..." He pulled back to look at her with pleading eyes.

She nodded, nothing but understanding flooding through her at his words. She knew, so well, how hard it was to want to do the right thing but be completely powerless to do so. She knew how heartwrenching it was to hurt the people you loved; the shame that filled your soul and threatened to break you when you did.

It wasn't that he didn't want his heart back. He was afraid. Afraid that he didn't deserve it. Afraid that he might not make the right decisions once he did. Afraid of facing what he'd done. Afraid most to face the people he loved and had hurt.

"I know, Gideon," she assured him, taking Rumple's hand in one of hers as her other held their son's. " _We_ know. You have been so brave, son. And now we're together again. Let us help you."

Belle held her breath as she watched the tiniest flicker of hesitation pass through his eyes, as if he still couldn't quite believe that they were standing before him. But the moment passed and in the next he was shuffling to his feet, helping her to hers with a strength that took her by surprise. Standing between her boys, she watched as her son smiled and looked to his father.

"I-I'm ready... Papa."

Her sigh of relief passed her lips with a smile, her heart bursting with a joy that wasn't only her own, but for her husband as well. Rumple looked as if he had just been handed the world, and she saw his eyes pool with tears just before his arms engulfed them both in a hug so tight that it squeezed the breath right out of her lungs - the space in her chest filling with a love and warmth so overwhelming that she never wanted to feel anything else.

"I'm so proud of you, son," came her husband's breathless voice beside her.

And then Gideon's warm voice between them. "I love you both."

Belle squeezed them both tighter. And felt her world right itself again.


End file.
